The UAE’s third mobile provider – the youthful Virgin Mobile UAE brand – has long-term plans to disrupt the telecoms industry with products including its own versions of WhatsApp, Skype and other ‘over-the-top’ (OTT) services, its managing director has hinted.

Karim Benkirane, managing director of Virgin Mobile UAE, told Arabian Business that the provider was best described as a research and development unit of Du owner Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), and would aim to constantly innovate to improve services to customers.

The UAE's two telecom operators, etisalat and du, have announced that they will start sales of the new Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus on Saturday, coinciding with Gitex Shopper.

'Etisalat is excited that the much-anticipated iPhone will be available for customers in the UAE at the same time as their global counterparts,' etisalat chief consumer officer Khaled Elkhouly said in a statement.

'The unique 'iPhone for Life' programme introduced last year for the first time in the UAE will make it easier to upgrade to the new iPhones. Etisalat's smart"...

(AETOS Wire)-- In its 50th anniversary, IBC2017 has confirmed a year-on-year increase in visitor numbers, marking a record attendance of 57,669 across the six day event. Visitors from across the expanding media ecosystem had the opportunity to learn about the opportunities offered by technologies - including social media TV, OTT, VR, AR, Cloud, IP, Bots and 5G - and to meet the most intelligent robots.

Visitors to the 15 exhibition halls witnessed many exciting new launches; Launch Pad grew year-on-year with a record number of exhibitors; the Future Reality Theatre and Content Everywhere Hub free programmes"...

UAE's telecom operator Etisalat has received the ‘Best Operator’ award at the leading industry event, ‘Telecoms World Middle East 2017,’ held in Dubai.

This award recognised the telecom operator that has achieved unparallelled growth in its operation, innovated its service portfolio, improved customer service, and developed its network capabilities since April 2016. Etisalat was shortlisted with Ooredoo Oman, Reliance Jio and Zain Group in the same category.

(AETOS Wire)-- OT-Morpho, a world leader in digital security and identification technologies, today announces that it has been selected by Deutsche Telekom AG (DTAG), a leading mobile network operator, to provide the first group wide subscription management solution, which has recently ensured the first commercial launch of a GSMA Phase 2 compliant consumer eSIM device in Germany and Croatia.

DTAG’s choice relies on OT-Morpho’s highly innovative positioning and readiness on this technology and furthermore its engagement with major OEMs as a supplier of eSIMs. Indeed, OT-Morpho’s subscription"...

Who’s ready for a thousand-dollar iPhone? Answer: probably quite a lot of people. Millions are likely to buy Apple’s new iPhone X when it ships in November, despite its base US$999 price tag in the US. In the UAE, it's set to be even more expensive, retailing from Dh4,099..

Many are also likely to buy the also-new and slightly less expensive iPhone 8, which goes on sale this month starting at the relative bargain price of $699.

But the fact that the new phones will almost certainly sell by the bucket load doesn’t justify their astronomical price"...

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) will first invest its half-a-billion dollar venture capital fund mainly in the region and then look abroad, its CEO said.

Speaking on the sidelines of Telecoms World Middle East 2017 conference in Dubai on Monday, Dr. Khaled Biyari said STC is in the process of setting up the company - STC Venture - which will manage the fund for the parent company.

'It is a corporate venture capital fund and we expect to start providing funds in the next few months. We will primarily be investing in the region, mainly in Saudi Arabia first and then"...